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Biden in Ukraine as Russia accuses Kiev of breaking deal

Vice President Biden landed in Ukraine on Monday for a high-profile visit to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to Ukraine and push for urgent implementation of an international agreement aimed at de-escalating tensions. (April 21)
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An armed man in military fatigues stands guard as two men hang the flag of the so-called "People's Republic of Donetsk" outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 21.(Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev, AFP/Getty Images)

KIEV, Ukraine — Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of breaking a deal to end violence in eastern Ukraine as Vice President Biden was to meet leaders in Kiev to show support for their confrontation with militants.

"Steps are being taken, above all by those who seized power in Kiev, not only that do not fulfill, but that crudely violate the Geneva agreement," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, referring to a U.S. and European Union-brokered truce.

Lavrov said a gunfight Sunday near Slaviansk, one of the Ukrainian cities where pro-Russia separatists have taken over buildings, showed that Ukraine's leaders are refusing to control "extremists" as called for the Geneva agreement.

"The authorities are doing nothing, not even lifting a finger, to address the causes behind this deep internal crisis in Ukraine," he said. Lavrov said nothing about the armed occupiers who sparked the standoff and refuse to surrender.

The U.S. State Department said photos available from social media and other sites show Russia has sent forces into eastern Ukraine. It said the alleged "concerned citizens" who want more autonomy in eastern Ukraine are dressed the same and are carrying the same kind of RPG-30 rocket launchers that are issued to Russian army troops.

Biden arrived here after the attack Sunday on pro-Moscow militants that Ukraine said was carried out by Russian special forces who have slipped into Ukraine to provoke a war on orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Ukrainian State Security Service said the shooters were not Ukraine forces as Lavrov alleges but "armed offenders and saboteurs" who are terrorizing people in eastern Ukraine who do not want to join Russia.

Biden plans to meet with Ukraine's president and prime minister as well as lawmakers to back their confrontation against militants seeking to separate from Ukraine, and to warn Russia that the U.S. may impose more sanctions on it if it continues to provoke unrest.

Biden plans to announce new technical support to the Ukrainian government to implement energy and economic reforms, as well. But no lethal aid is being contemplated, according to the White House.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told NBC that Putin is trying to bring back the Soviet Union, the communist predecessor to modern Russia that controlled Eastern Europe and Ukraine before it was dissolved in 1991.

"Every day he (Putin) goes further and further," Yatsenyuk said. "And God knows where is the final destination."

A Putin-ordered invasion of the Ukraine province of Crimea has left that area in the hands of Russia's military. Putin declared Crimea part of Russia after a referendum was held in favor of joining Russia, though Crimea and the West say the vote was a sham and the secession illegal.

Ukrainians in the eastern part of the country have been convulsed by unrest since Ukraine ousted its pro-Russia president over the shooting of protesters who opposed his attempts to tie Ukraine closer to Moscow rather than Europe.

The area has a large population of ethnic Russians, some of whom want more autonomy from the central government in Kiev. Russian state media and representatives from Moscow have been telling Ukrainians that they will get bigger pensions and better housing if they act to join Russia.

"The Donetsk region has been feeding the rest of Ukraine for many years, but we, its citizens, live poorly," said Nadezhda Leonidova, 61, who has been supporting separatists in the region.

"This must change," Leonidova said. "The new government is all the old faces. These people have never done any good for the east, and they never will. Russia is our chance for a decent life."

The Ukrainian government has been struggling to regain control of the east where just across the border tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are stationed. The government sent Ukrainian forces to the regions where the takeovers have happened but the soldiers have yet to move on the militants.

Diplomats in Geneva, including Lavrov and Ukraine's foreign minister, agreed last week on a statement that all armed extremist groups must end occupying buildings and surrender their weapons. Lavrov alleged that Ukraine has violated the agreement by refusing to disarm nationalist groups that are assailing pro-Russia Ukrainians.

But Ukraine has moved to disarm and arrest members of the so-called Right Sector, who are largely found in Kiev. The militants who have taken over buildings have refused to leave or disarm, a fact Lavrov has not mentioned.

Uniformed masked men, armed with weapons, set up checkpoints in eastern Ukraine last week where police and administrative buildings were taken over by separatists. Putin has denied the masked men are Russian soldiers, but he admitted that those mystery forces that moved into Crimea before it was annexed at the end of March were Russia soldiers.

A man who claims he is now mayor of Slovyansk asked Putin to send in troops to protect Russian speakers from Ukrainian nationalists.

"They want to make us slaves. They don't talk to us, but simply kill us," Vyacheslav Ponomaryov told reporters in a broadcast on Rossiya state television.

Ukraine has held off from using force against those occupying government buildings, promising to grant amnesty to those who give up peacefully. Separatists want to hold a referendum on autonomy in the east on the same day as Ukraine presidential elections May 25, but Ukraine has said no to that.

The Ukrainian government "can choose either to try to fight against the separatists in eastern Ukraine and they won't make themselves very popular … or they don't fight and accept the eastern part of Ukraine will become independent or autonomous," said Liana Fix, associate fellow at the Center for Central and Eastern Europe of the Robert Bosch Stiftung at the German Council of Foreign Relations in Berlin.

"In all cases they lose control over eastern Ukraine," Fix said.

Serenelli reported from Berlin. Contributing: the Associated Press

A Ukrainian soldier stands next to tanks while preparing to withdraw from the eastern city of Artemivsk. Roman Pilipey, epa

An Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) representative watches the Ukrainian artillery withdrawal near Vasiukovka, Ukraine, in the Donetsk area on Feb. 27, 2015. Ukraine is withdrawing heavy weapons from its front line in the east in order to test whether a peace plan with Russian-backed separatists can work. Anastasia Vlasova, European Pressphoto Agency

A woman in traditional costume lays flowers at the temporary memorial for Maidan activists who were killed during anti-government protest one year ago in Kiev, Ukraine. Sergey Dolzhenko, European Pressphoto Agency

A boy climbs on a Russia-made trophy artillery rocket system, seized by the Ukrainian troops, at an open-air exhibition in front of the golden-domed St Michael Cathedral, in Kiev, Ukraine. Efrem Lukatsky, AP

A handout photo taken and released by the Presidential press-service shows Ukrainian President Petro Posroshenko greets a wounded serviceman during his visit to military hospital in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, on Feb. 21. Michail Palinchak, AFP/Getty Images

The statue of Goddess Bereginya is illuminated by lights placed where 100 activists were killed during the 2014 anti-government protests on Feb. 20 at Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine. Sergey Dolzhenko, European Pressphoto Agency

A pro-Russian rebel walks through a destroyed position of Ukrainian forces near the eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve on Feb. 20, 2015. Germany and France demanded that a crumbling Ukraine truce be "fully respected" even as pro-Russian rebels celebrated a battlefield victory in a strategic town and exchanged artillery fire elsewhere with government troops. PHOTO / ANDREY BORODULINANDREY BORODULIN/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: 538081747 Andrey Borodulin, AFP/Getty Images

Residents line up waiting for a delivery of aid as a Russia-backed rebel guards a pile of weapons and ammunition on Feb. 20outside an administration building in Debaltseve, Ukraine.After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell on Feb. 18 to Russia-backed separatists. Vadim Ghirda, AP

A young girl leans on a cart used to carry tree branches for fire, outside a damaged apartment building in Debaltseve, Ukraine. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell Wednesday to Russia-backed separatists. Vadim Ghirda, AP

A woman visits the temporary memorial for Maidan activists on Feb 20 in Kiev, Ukraine. The activists were killed during anti-government protests one year ago near the city's Independence Square. Sergey Dolzhenko, European Pressphoto Agency

A Russia-backed rebel looks at the flag-covered body of an Ukrainian serviceman in Debaltseve, Ukraine. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell on Feb. 18 to Russia-backed separatists. Vadim Ghirda, AP

A man holding a Ukrainian flag stands vigil at Maidan Square in Kiev. Ukraine is commemorating the first anniversary of the Feb. 20, 2014, sniper attacks that killed dozens of protesters in the Maidan and were followed thereafter by the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Sean Gallup, Getty Images

Russia-backed rebels pose by a road sign on Feb. 20, 2015, at the entrance in Debaltseve, Ukraine, after checking the access road into town for mines they suspected were laid down by retreating Ukrainian government troops. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub fell to Russia-backed separatists. Vadim Ghirda, AP

Ukrainian government soldiers who withdrew from Debaltseve prepare to return to support a further pullout of troops on Feb.19 in Artemivsk, Ukraine. Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from the strategic town on Feb. 18 after they were surrounded by pro-Russia rebels. Brendan Hoffman, Getty Images

Pro-Russia rebels fire a volley of Grad missiles at Ukrainian government troops on Feb. 18 near Debaltseve. Ukrainian troops pulled out of Debaltseve after it was stormed by pro-Russia rebels. Andrey Borodulin, AFP/Getty Images

A man tries to remove pieces of broken glass from a window in a school damaged by a Grad missile on Jan. 25 in Vostochniy, eastern Ukraine. Thirty people were killed when rockets slammed into a market, schools, homes and shops. Evgeniy Maloletka, AP

Ukrainian servicemen ride an APC in the front-line village of Orlovka near Donetsk. Pro-Russian rebels vowed to conquer more territory in eastern Ukraine and ruled out peace talks after Kiev retreated from a long-disputed airport. Oleksandr Stashevskiy, AFP/Getty Images

A local man puts out the fire at his burning house after shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014. Strong explosions were heard early Sunday on the outskirts of the main rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine near the airport, raising new fears that a cease-fire signed two days ago is on the verge of collapse. Blasts powerful enough to be heard in downtown Donetsk came from the area near the airport, which has been under the control of government troops since May and has come under unremitting attacks from pro-Russia separatist rebels since then. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) ORG XMIT: XSG105 Sergei Grits AP

Personnel from the Kiev-1 police force battalion check crates of Russian-made 9M113 Konkurs portable wire-guided anti-tank missile launchers in the basement of a building in Slaviansk. Sergei Kozlov, European Pressphoto Agency

Residents of Mariupol, Ukraine, dig trenches and build fortifications with sandbags. They are assisting Ukrainian troops in organizing their defense on the outskirts of the city. Alexander Khudoteply, AFP/Getty Images

Detained Ukrainian border guards sit in a garage at the Novoazovsk border crossing point in eastern Ukraine. In Novoazovsk, pro-Russia rebel fighters looked to be in firm control after heavy shelling a day before. Sergei Grits, AP

A photograph released by DigitalGlobe via NATO on Aug. 28 allegedly shows Russian military units moving in a convoy with self-propelled artillery in the area of Krasnodon, Ukraine. DigitalGlobe/NATO, via AFP/Getty Images

A photograph provided by DigitalGlobe via NATO allegedly shows six Russian 153mm 2S19 self-propelled guns located in Russia near Kuybyshevo. This site is situated 4 miles south of the Ukraine border near the village of Chervonyi Zhovten. The guns are pointing towards Ukrainian territory. DigitalGlobe/NATO via AFP/Getty Images